§ Lord Lamontasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 25 October that a judicial inquiry into the Omagh bombing could jeopardise legal proceedings, whether that means that there cannot be any prosecutions relating to Bloody Sunday now that a judicial inquiry has been set up to investigate those events. [HL4384]
§ Lord Falconer of ThorotonThe circumstances of the two cases are very different. Unlike the Omagh bombing, there are no prosecutions outstanding in relation to Bloody Sunday nor are the events of that day the subject of active criminal investigations likely to lead to imminent prosecutions. The existence of the Bloody Sunday inquiry does not, however, prevent the possibility of prosecutions being brought in due course; whether or not that happens will be a matter for the police and the Director of Public Prosecutions on the basis of the available evidence.